First Comes Love
by WastedHeart
Summary: Caught up in the romance of their date on the Citadel, Garrus and Shepard decide to get hitched right away. Almost pure fluff and will eventually be rated M for smut. Originally posted to the Mass Effect Kink Meme.
1. The push

**So this fic was originally written for a prompt on the good old Mass Effect Kink Meme, which essentially asked for a story about Shep and Garrus eloping after their Citadel date. I figured I may as well post it here as well since I spent aages writing it on and off over the last few busy months and I'm happy enough with it.**

**It's pretty much pure, unadulterated fluff the whole way through and will be rated 'M' before the end for smuttiness. I think I'll post a short section every couple of nights over the next week or so as I definitely want to fine tune some parts before leaving them here.**

**As always, reviews are welcome and much appreciated, particularly because they help me improve as a writer.**

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A constant buzz of noise surrounded Shepard as she made her way with Garrus through the Presidium Commons, to which she was frequently adding her own voice and laughter. For once, nothing differentiated her behaviour from that of the Citadel's most carefree inhabitants who didn't seem to grasp the peril faced by the galaxy in the war with the Reapers. She had good reason though for swapping her usual serious demeanour for a more relaxed one tonight. Garrus was in the midst of treating her to what had so far been the best date of her life and, dammit, she deserved to enjoy it. Duty and all her responsibilities could wait for just a short while. For him.

He'd already driven her to the top of the Presidium where they'd shared a romantic moment complete with a sniping contest. She'd let him win of course. He'd earned it for being such a sweet-heart, if not for actually being the proven better shot. Now they were looking out for a restaurant in which to indulge in a nice meal. Preferably somewhere classy, intimate and quiet. Certainly somewhere with a selection of both levo and dextro-cuisine so neither of them would be left hungry.

Before they could complete their search for good food, however, an advertising terminal succeeded in thoroughly diverting their attention. It activated as they approached the window of a quarian restaurant, a pretty, but blurry purple asari suddenly appearing on its screen and calling out to them.

"Why hello there, Officer Vakarian and Commander Shepard!" she said, talking like she was an old friend of theirs and not some figment made of pixels. "I see you're out on the town again, enjoying your seventy-second trip to the Citadel in each other's charming company. Together, you've visited many well-known romantic locations including Rodam Expeditions, Aeghor Munitions and *out of bounds: data unavailable*."

Laughing, Shepard stopped in front of the advert and raised her eyebrows suggestively at Garrus. He grinned back, but then the Asari continued to babble at them and her mouth as well as his mandibles fell slack.

"Are you two gorgeous lovebirds ready to take the next step in your relationship?" she asked. "Do you want to make the move from mere mates to husband and wife? Then come to the Chapel of the Eight Banners tonight for a wedding you'll never forget. There's no waiting; we have special Council approval to take you through all the annoying legal mumbo jumbo ourselves. Plus, our eloquent ministers are trained in many turian and human wedding traditions so you can take your pick. We can even provide human style wedding rings or use our tattooing facilities to paint you with matching markings in a relatively pain-free procedure. It's entirely your choice!

"You just need to bring your two lovely selves and we can get started. So if you're interested in pledging your eternal loyalty and devotion to each other tonight, come see us on the fifth level of the Presidium Commons. Just ask the nearest Avina terminal for directions from wherever you're standing are right now. We've already married hundreds of couples and sincerely hope to have the pleasure of marrying you soon!"

The asari disappeared only to be replaced by a hazy shot of the chapel and the sounds of the human wedding march mixed with a bizarre trumpeting noise which Shepard could only guess was turian in its origins. Five awkward seconds of that passed before the advert shut up for good, leaving her and Garrus to stare at each other with no idea of what to say now silence had finally returned to them.

_God._ Maybe she should have just kept walking like she usually did when one of those damn things triggered and started trying to sell her a funeral shroud, bottle of pheromones or whatever else.

The problem wasn't that she didn't want to marry Garrus. She _did_. In him, she'd found the rare treasure of a best friend as well as a boyfriend and she intended to hold on to him for as long as possible. No, the problem was that despite her feelings on the subject being stark and in-focus, Garrus' remained an unknown. Though turians entered into lifelong, exclusive marriages just like humans and the two of them fitted together perfectly, it didn't necessarily follow that he would be ready to consider entering into a legally binding union with her yet.

She cleared her throat as if the action would somehow clear her head as well. "Well that was pretty presumptuous," she said. "Usually, if a couple gets pressurised to marry it's by relatives, not some random advert."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Besides, what kind of couple is going to be convinced by an ad to get hitched? I know you've agreed to be a one turian kind of woman, and I can assure you I'm a one human kind of man, but we don't need to rush into anything before we're both absolutely sure we want to." He paused for a half-beat. "Not that I'm, uh, suggesting I'd actually be averse to marrying you of course. You're definitely the type of woman worth marrying."

His bearing suddenly became that of a turian who feared they'd revealed too much and he clamped his mandibles down tightly as if to ensure no further thoughts along those lines could escape. But she didn't have a problem with any of it. Quite the opposite really. What he'd just said more than earned its place amongst the collection of the best things she'd ever heard. It had maybe even beaten off all the competition and claimed the top spot.

"Garrus," she said quickly, placing her hand firmly on his arm to steady his nerves. "I'm certainly not averse to the idea of marrying you either. Tonight or at any other time. I'd love to be the girl who gets to tie a dashingly handsome sharp-shooter like you down for life."

"You…you really want to get married? Already? To me?" The gears in his head seemed to be struggling to turn while he processed the concept.

"Of course to you, Garrus. Who else?"

"Huh. That's…well, that's…fantastic." His voice melted down into a soft purr. "I have to admit, when you said you loved me earlier, I thought for just a moment about what it would be like to ask you to marry me right there and then at the top of the Presidium. But I figured it was still too early to risk it. I didn't want to freak you out and spoil the moment."

"As you can see, I'm not freaked out at all by anything you've said."

Head cocked to one side, he glanced at her appraisingly. "No, you're really not. You look happy."

"So why don't you ask me?"

The words seemed to soar out of her mouth from somewhere deep inside her, no doubt propelled forward by all the emotions coursing through her body. But she felt no desire to try to scramble them back. She meant them.

Oh yes, she definitely meant them.

"Right now?"

"If you want to, then yes. Go right ahead."

"I…wait, do you mean ask you to marry me tonight, here on the Citadel in that chapel? Or just sometime in the future?"

"Whichever you prefer." She smiled at him encouragingly. Very encouragingly. "My answer will be exactly the same. And here's the best thing; it won't be a 'no'."

"I'm, ah, not sure how to ask you properly. The vids didn't exactly include instructions on proposing either. I'm meant to give you a shiny ring to wear on your finger as a present, aren't I? But I haven't got one."

"I don't care about that, Garrus. I'd say ask me the turian way, but I know turian engagements officially begin when a couple starts to draw up a marriage contract together and I really don't think we need one of those."

"No. We definitely don't."

"Then why not forget the cultural norms, human and turian, and just ask me your way? If you _want_ to."

"Okay." With a tender look on his face, he stepped towards her, leaving no gap at all between them, "I think I can just about manage that without screwing it up."

Eyes never leaving hers, he placed one of his hands gently on her cheek. With the other, he took her own hand and laid it against his chest. Through his tough plates, muscle and bone, she could she feel his heart hammering erratically away in his chest. She wondered if he realised.

"I love you, Shepard." His voice was unsteady, much like his heartbeat, yet somehow still determined as he said those three words out loud for the first time. "I'd be honoured to call you my wife because...well, because you're you. Will you marry me tonight in that ridiculous chapel?"

"Yes," she said.

Almost as soon as the answer left her lips, he pulled her into an embrace, which was probably a damn good thing because she highly suspected she'd become too overwhelmed to keep speaking in any intelligible sort of manner. Even someone of her strong constitution and steely nerves refined by hundreds of battles couldn't quite handle all of this. Ten minutes ago they'd been walking along as a mere couple boyfriend and girlfriend. Now they were engaged. By end of the night they'd be married.

"I guess the advert worked on us after all," he said, when they finally drew apart after God knows how long. "That's actually incredibly embarrassing."

She laughed. "If we ever tell someone else the story of how we ended up getting hitched on a night out together, we'll just conveniently forget to mention that part. Anyway, it's not like it would have had any effect if we hadn't already wanted to marry each other."

"Very true. So we're really gonna do this tonight, huh, Shepard?"

Another positive answer was the only correct response to that question. "Without a doubt, Garrus."

"Do you want to run hand in hand to the chapel right now then?"

"If you think you can stand a very minor delay, I'd like to change first." She gestured towards herself and the no longer crisp uniform she'd been wearing all day. "I'd just rather not get married in this. I don't have anything quite right stashed in my closet either, but there are plenty of nice clothes shops around here. I'm sure I could pick something up."

"Maybe I should change too. Heavy armour's not usually considered appropriate wedding attire even in turian culture and you know how much we love our military. Plus, it's not exactly romantic. How about we split up now and both try to find something a bit more classy?"

"And then meet at the chapel in a couple of hours?"

"Certainly sounds like a perfect plan to me, Shepard."

They always had been good at strategizing together. Apparently, it made no difference whether they were making battle plans or organising an impromptu wedding.

….

**Thanks for reading the first little chapter :)**

**Provided my busy schedule allows it, the next part should post Tuesday.**


	2. The build up

**Thanks so much to the handful of people who reviewed the first chapter and to everyone who's favourited the story or put it on alert. It's lovely to know people are interested in reading more :)**

**Here's the second little chapter.**

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Garrus found himself on the hunt, not for some fearsome and elusive enemy, but for a suit to wear when he married Shepard later that night. To think earlier it had seemed like driving up to the top of the presidium with her would be the highlight of his day. Had it not been for how wide awake and giddy he felt as he strode down a long line of shops, he might have suspected that he'd slipped into a dream world at some point earlier in the evening.

He came to a sudden, triumphant stop outside a large boutique whose name he recognised. One of his old C-Sec buddies who'd been a sharply dressed womaniser on the side had recommended it to him multiple times back when he'd still lived on the Citadel. Garrus' motives for wanting to buy a suit were far more pure than his friend's had ever been, but he did seem to have had good reason for giving the place his seal of approval. The two large windows which dominated its front were full of immaculate and expensive looking suits for turians.

Inside, Garrus found many more examples, to the point where it became slightly intimidating. Fabric in a mind boggling variety of colours surrounded him and, damn, he didn't quite know where to start. His general approach to shopping was to grab the first thing that fitted and run with it. But Shepard deserved the best so he'd just have to pour all his energy and ingenuity into a different channel than usual and find something nice. Something that would make her shoot him that wonderful half-smile of hers when she first saw it on him.

For the best chance of success, he decided it pertinent to enlist the help of someone with more knowledge of fashion than him, given that he essentially had none, and so approached a nearby turian sales assistant. /Immaculately dressed and with flawless purple and white facial markings, she blended in with the shop so well that she may as well have been a part of the clothes stand she was tending to.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked as he drew up to her, using a ruthlessly polite tone. She seemed to be assessing him as she spoke, her eyes running over his worn armour and up to his scars. "You look rather bewildered."

"Uh…I suppose I am a bit," he replied. "I'm looking for something very specific; something to wear to a wedding. My wedding. Tonight."

"Did you say tonight?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm afraid that could be difficult. We do stock turian ceremonial wedding robes, but they have to be fitted and specially ordered from our designer supplier on Palaven. They're also…" she looked him up and down again "expensive and I couldn't begin the process of procuring one for you without receiving a deposit first."

"I don't need one of those robes. Just a good suit. My mate's a human so she won't mind if I ignore that particular tradition."

"Interesting." Her brow plates raised slightly, throwing off the perfect patterning of her markings for a moment. "You must care for her very much to choose her over one of our own kind and marry her in such an unusual fashion."

"I do," he said with real force contained in the two words. "And I want to buy something that she'll definitely like. Price is no object, so can you help me?"

"Of course." She fixed a smile on her face. "If that's what you desire, Mr…"

"Vakarian."

"As a business, we do our best to cater for the needs of any paying customer who walks through the door, no matter what walk of life they come from."

In other, more plain and truthful words, she thought him a rather odd turian, likely of low rank within the hierarchy, who had stepped above his station by coming into her shop, but she would help him anyway because she wanted his credits.

"What an enlightened philosophy," he said.

"I certainly think so. I have to admit, I don't believe I've ever had a customer with quite such unique requirements as yours and I certainly can't claim to be an expert on human tastes, but I'm sure I will be able to help you find something that she'll like well enough, and which will emphasise only your best features and minimise the…others. You're sure you don't need to set a price limit?"

"Yes. Completely. She deserves the best."

"Excellent, Mr Vakarian."

With the promise of a plentiful amount of his credits to fuel her, she swung into action, setting off on a circuit around the shop. Garrus trailed closely behind her, but was essentially of no help, simply agreeing with the little she said and accepting the many pieces of clothing she handed to him. He didn't feel particularly qualified to do anything else.

In an impressively short time, she had assembled five full outfits for him and deposited him into a small changing room, with the assurance that she would stay fairly close by in case he "ran into any difficulties".

The third suit, which Garrus tried on after he had already passed half an hour banging his elbows and fumbling with various pieces of clothing, turned out to be pretty much perfect. Consisting of dark navy jacket with grey trim, matching trousers and a grey shirt, it both fitted him well and came in a colour scheme that he knew Shepard would approve of. More than once, she'd commented on how blue brought out his eyes and markings. Truthfully, he'd probably been more at ease in his armour. For better or worse, it had become like a second skin to him so nothing else could possibly feel so natural. However, Shepard was worth a measure of discomfort for a few hours, plus far more than that besides.

In the large mirror implausibly crammed into the confines of the changing room along with him and all the clothes, he studied the suit at length, approving of the way its well-tailored lines so closely followed the angles of his body. This was it then; what he, a scarred up turian, would be wearing to marry the great Commander Shepard in little more than an hour.

The trajectory of his gaze slid up the mirror to his face, or more specifically to its ruined right side. To so many people, including the damn sales assistant who no doubt remained hovering somewhere nearby, his scars were one of the most notable things about him, but not to Shepard. Nor did she only see someone of a different species when she looked at him. She saw far more and had somehow come to love him for it.

Though he couldn't quite fathom why she cared for him to that extent and figured it would probably just have to remain one of the universes' great unsolved mysteries, he was certainly going to ensure she was rewarded for her devotion by being the best husband he possibly could to her. Not a day of their married life would be allowed to pass without him finding some way, big or small, to show her how much he loved her.

Damn, he could barely wait to get started.

Swiftly, but carefully he gave the suit a final once over to make sure beyond a shadow of a doubt it was the right choice. And it was, so he pulled his armour back on and strode to the counter with it in hand to pay.

The price that flashed up on the screen terrified him almost as much as the Reapers. However, he paid up rather than fleeing, to the clear joy of the sales assistant who actually flashed him her first genuine smile, and exited the shop with the weight of one new suit captured in his hands, but his bank balance many credits lighter. There was nothing to do now but head back to the Normandy, get changed and then, well…meet Shepard at the chapel and promise himself to her for the rest of his life.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the endpoint he was heading towards, Garrus reached the ship quickly. As he strode through what he thought was an empty CIC towards the elevator, however, a uniformed obstacle in the form of Samantha Traynor blocked his way.

Almost all of the crew had left the Normandy for some much needed shore leave when it had docked on the Citadel earlier, but apparently she'd chosen to remain behind with her work.

"Sorry to intercept you like this, Garrus," she said, "But Commander Shepard told me to pass a message onto you if I spied you arriving back on the Normandy."

"Oh…what is it?"

"Just one second, I wrote it down somewhere…." She rifled around near her terminal before lifting a datapad from the underneath a pile of charts. "Aha! Here we Commander says she needs a bit of privacy while she prepares for the rest of your date and would rather you avoid entering the Captain's Cabin if at all possible since she's changing in there. She'd prefer for you not to see her again until you're both at the rendezvous point on the Citadel to make the meeting more special. She hopes you don't mind."

Shepard's quarters had indeed been his intended destination because he'd wanted to grab a few things from in there. Since she'd picked him up on Menae, he'd been sharing her bed with increasingly frequency and all of his possessions had gradually been migrating to the cabin from their original home in the main battery. But if she didn't want him to barge in right now, then that was fine. Perhaps it was customary for human women not to be seen in their bridal attire by the groom until the wedding itself.

"That's okay, Traynor," he said. "I wouldn't want to intrude on her."

"Thank you for being so understanding, Garrus. I'm sure the Commander will appreciate it. She's already left any items which she thinks you might need in the main battery."

"Ah, that's great. And thanks for letting me know."

Those were intended to be parting words, but she remained hovering in front of him, causing him to wonder if she had an inkling of exactly what he and Shepard were up to this evening. His suspicions didn't have any time to fester before they were confirmed.

"Garrus…" she said, speaking quickly. "I might be mistaken in what I am about to say, and I apologise if I am, but…well, I couldn't help wondering after my conversation with the Commander if the two of you have something very special planned for later tonight. The sort of thing that usually involves a Minister and the exchanging of vows."

"You're, ah, not mistaken, Traynor," he admitted. "And I appreciate you congratulating us – I really do - but I'm not sure if Shepard wants anyone else to know about what we've got planned. At least for now, can you not say anything about it?"

"I promise I'll keep my lips tightly sealed until one of you signals otherwise, Comms Specialist or not."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Sam."

"No problem at all. I couldn't possibly be more pleased for the two of you. When Shepard walked into the CIC earlier, she just seemed so...content. Like she'd managed to forget about the war for a little while. And I can see how happy you are. It's good to know that something positive is happening to counterbalance the incessant doom and gloom that's been hanging around this ship lately."

He gave her another smile. On that, they were certainly in agreement.

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**I think the next part will go up this weekend at the latest, though things are pretty mental for me at work at the moment.**

**Thanks for reading Chapter 2! Next up the wedding ceremony itself :)**


	3. The ceremony

**More fluff incoming!**

**Thanks for the alerts and favourites after the last chapter, and a big thank you to the couple of people who took the time to review :)**

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Still waiting for Garrus to make his grand entrance, Shepard positioned herself beside a tall neon sign proclaiming, "Weddings preformed all day and night," in flashing pink lettering. Behind her lay the gaudy visage of the chapel itself, with its golden front door and walls covered in various romantic symbols from across the galaxy, including human-style love hearts. Before tonight, she never would have expected to pledge her everlasting loyalty to someone in such a place and yet going ahead with the wedding felt absolutely right. The sooner, the better in fact.

Just as she'd almost reached the point of sending Garrus a gentle, "Please hurry the hell up if you can, darling", message via her omni-tool, she heard footsteps close by. She looked up and caught a glimpse of a turian wearing a sharp blue and grey suit heading in her direction. He was tall, dashingly handsome and unmistakably her Garrus.

"You're late," she said in a wry tone when he arrived by her side.

"I just wanted to make sure I looked good for you and that takes work. I highly suspected you'd look great. Seems I was completely right about that." Both of his hands reached out to pull her tight against him. "In fact, you don't just look great. You look fantastic."

A sweet smile formed on her face, perfectly in keeping with the tone of what he'd just said. Truth be told, she was surprised by how good he seemed to think she looked. She would have described her appearance in dimmer terms that the glowing ones he'd just used. Instead of the usual elegant gown picked by a bride after days or even weeks of agonising, the dress she had on was short, dark and chosen mainly because it fitted her better than the other six she'd forced onto her body in the small fashion boutique. She'd made an attempt to put on some makeup in her cabin without complete success and her 'styling' of her hair had been beset by difficulties. Years of military life meant she knew how to handle a gun far better than a makeup applicator or hair brush.

"Thank you," she said. "I thought I still looked half-finished."

"I should be thanking you, not the other way around, Shepard. You even put some of that pretty shiny stuff on your face."

"I did. Only the very best for you, Garrus. You look great too by the way. Every inch as handsome as you intended. And I'm glad to see you went for this suit rather than the wedding robes some turians wear. Uh…no offence."

"None taken." He brushed his forehead gently against hers "Since we both look so damn fantastic now, do you want to head inside the chapel?"

For some insane reason, he posed the question like there was a chance she would say no. Instead she said, "Yes. Straight away."

Hands laced together, they passed through the doors into the chapel interior, which had been decorated entirely in pinks, golds and whites as if the rest of the colour spectrum didn't exist. On the left hand side of the room was a large (white and pink) marble desk occupied by a single Asari wearing a strange combination of an extremely sour expression on her face and a pretty fuchsia dress on her body. She beckoned to them to come forward, her gold nails glinting in the bright overhead lights, and they obeyed.

"Hello and welcome to the Chapel of the Eight Bells, where all your romantic wedding dreams can be realised at any time during the day or night," she said, speaking as if reading from a script she cared not one jolt for. "I presume you are here because you want to marry each other. And not because you somehow mistook us for a gourmet restaurant like one human couple earlier today. Correct?"

They both answered in the affirmative with Shepard's "Yes" and Garrus' "Yeah" mingling together.

"Right." Her voice continued to be flat. "We can get started now then. My name is Coralle and I'll be here to guide you through the whole process and to answer any questions you may have. I can assure you I know what I'm doing. You should be exchanging vows in a fairly short time provided I don't discover any legal impediment to the union."

"Glad to hear it," Garrus said. "I don't know about you, Shepard, but I might start to get antsy if I have to wait for too long,"

He flared his mandibles wide in jest, displaying enough enthusiasm to compensate for Coralle's near total lack of it. To be fair to her, they were likely the fifth, tenth or even twentieth couple she'd seen in here today, but as this was still Shepard and Garrus' first (and hopefully only) time marrying, a little feigned excitement on her behalf wouldn't have gone amiss.

Thankfully, she did at least turn out to indeed be a competent employee. Fluttering her perfectly manicured hands over the console in front of her many times, she aided them in filling out the necessary forms and ensuring their impending nuptials were successfully approved. She also arranged the details of the wedding itself. They requested a basic civil service in which they could say their own vows, not repeat ages old turian or human ones that had been droned out by so many couples before them. And both chose a silver band from the paltry selection sold in the chapel to exchange with each other during the ceremony. Although Shepard wasn't necessarily averse to following turian marriage traditions and taking Garrus' markings at some point, for the time being they were content with the less painful option of using rings alone to mark their union.

The bill for the whole wedding came to a fairly neat amount and they both paid half of it, acting as equal partners since that's what they were intending to be within their marriage as well.

Brilliantly, fantastically, they were soon standing facing each other at the front of the chapel, with the salarian minister on one side of them and Coralle and another staff member acting as witnesses on the other. Shepard felt like her heart, so full of happiness and excitement, was going to burst out of her chest through the barrier of flesh and bone. That was a physical impossibility of course. She knew that all too well, but the sensation persisted nonetheless, even as the minister began to speak.

"Welcome to your wedding…" He glanced down at the datapad clutched in one of his gloved hands, the glove being pink of course along with the rest of his garish outfit, "…Mr Vakarian and Ms Shepard. My name is Nelan, and I am honoured to have the pleasure of marrying the two of you tonight. I've been officiating in this chapel for what is approaching ten years now and you're only the fifth turian-human couple to stand here in front of me. It seems you're very rare. There may even be some prejudice out there against unions like yours, I dare say. Not from me of course. I personally find interspecies relationships fascinating and it's splendid for anyone to find love in the troubled times we're currently living in.

"Anyway, I digress, by coming here tonight you have signalled your intention to spend the rest of your lives together. So let's start you on that path..." His eyes went briefly to the datapad again, "You've elected to say your own vows so why don't you start, Ms Shepard? Ladies first, as you humans often say."

"I suppose we do say that," she said slowly. "Alright then. I doubt I'll be overly skilled at this since I've amassed far more experience giving pep talks than grand romantic speeches over the years so I'll keep it simple. I love you, Garrus, and, if you marry me, I'll try always to be a good wife to you. I freely admit I'm not entirely sure what that entails, having never been a wife before, but I promise to put the same amount effort into our marriage as I'm dedicating to winning this damn war. Oh, and once you are my husband, I can offer you unlimited access to the captain's cabin on the Normandy, including the soft bed and shower. In fact, everything I have will be yours."

Those were likely some of most ill-thought out vows the minister had heard during the years he'd spent standing here in this room, marrying couple after couple. The confusion evident on his face certainly suggested so anyway. But Garrus was smiling, his expression radiating enough warmth that she could almost feel it on her skin. She'd only rarely seen him display such emotion so plainly. And that, quite frankly, was all that mattered to her.

"So," she finished, mirroring his smile as best she could. "Sound good to you?"

"I think I can work with that. Particularly, the last bit about the captain's cabin. I do really love that bed."

"Guess it's your turn then, Garrus."

Much like he did before taking an important shot on the battlefield, she heard him inhale deeply in advance of starting to speak. "I'm not particularly good at stuff like this either. As I'm sure you gathered pretty early into our relationship with my comments about heat sinks and doing, uh, research, so I guess I should, for both our sakes, keep it simple as well. So…here goes. I love you, Shepard, and once we're married I will always be there for you when you need me or when you just have a feeling that you might like me by your side. By saying that I'm sort of recycling an old promise, but I figure it's still a good one. I just…want to make you happy and look out for you. I don't really have anything to offer you but myself and my sniper rifle. I hope that's enough for you."

She let out a strange hybrid sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "More than enough, Garrus. You didn't even need to throw in the sniper rifle to win me over."

"Consider it an added bonus. You deserve it and far more besides."

Nelan gave a theatrical wave of his arms. "Excellent. You've successfully exchanged your vows. I can't recall the last time I heard such unusual ones. Some couples read poetry they've composed themselves or sing romantic songs to each other, you know. But I can tell that the promises you've made meant something to the two of you and so we shall proceed. Ms Shepard, can you confirm that you are happy to take Mr Vakarian here as your husband from this moment on?"

"Yes," she said.

"And Mr Vakarian," Nelan continued, "Are you happy to take Ms Shepard as your wife?"

Garrus nodded, looking at her. "Definitely."

Nelan smiled. "Please now exchange your rings."

Again, Shepard went first, taking Garrus' hand in hers and doing her best to force his wedding band onto the middle talon of his left hand. Unfortunately, it wasn't the greatest fit for a turian so she had to give up once it reached three-quarters of the way down. At least it didn't appear to be in any immediate danger of falling off at that point. In marked contrast, Garrus easily placed her matching band onto her ring finger.

"Congratulations to both of you," the Minister said. "I can confirm that you are now husband and wife in a union officially recognised under galactic law. Would you like to mark the marriage the usual human way with a kiss? Or with that adorable nuzzling gesture most turians do?"

"How about we do both?" Shepard suggested. "I wouldn't want us to miss out on anything. You'll have to take the lead with the turian side of things though, Garrus. I'm not totally sure what to do."

"My pleasure, Shepard."

With care so intense it resembled reverence, he pulled her bodily to him and first nuzzled the right side of her face, then the left. Lastly, he pressed their foreheads together while keeping his eyes locked on hers so both could see nothing but each other.

"You're meant to do the same to me now," he said. "If that's okay with you."

Of course it was. Trying to be just as tender in the movements as he'd been, she repeated the sequence on him. However, she deliberately modified the final part, brushing her forehead against his before drawing him into a lingering human-style kiss.

And just like that their future together was sealed. True, she had no idea how long their union would survive for given the war, but she did know that this marriage was the best thing she had and she would fight to her last breath to protect it. The Reapers had no idea of the ferocious enemy they faced in her now.

She grinned at her new husband, and he at her. They were still smiling when they left the chapel after signing their certificate of marriage, exiting back out through the gilded doors to the Presidium having gained two silver bands and so much more besides. Shepard's mouth was beginning to ache by then, but she couldn't have changed her expression if she'd wanted to, and she certainly didn't want to.

Their great moods persisted as they stopped in a nearby restaurant for some food and to indulge in a bit of celebrating. And, if anything, only intensified further when they hurried back to her…no, their quarters on the Normandy for another, more private type of celebration, high on excitement and the cocktails they'd had with their meals.

Shepard couldn't remember the last time she'd bothered to move so fast in a non-emergency situation, but she had no intention of slowing down. And she could tell Garrus, who was holding her hand and keeping pace beside her, didn't either.

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**I'm hoping to post again on Tuesday or Wednesday, at which point the rating will be changing to M ;)**

**Thanks very much for reading.**


	4. The wedding night

**As you've probably noticed, the rating on this fic is now M. There's nothing_ that_ explicit here, but if you don't like any sort of smut in your fics then you can avoid it by scrolling down to the divider halfway through this chapter.**

**A big thanks to everyone for the alerts, favorites and lovely reviews.**

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The very moment the elevator opened onto the short hallway leading to the captain's cabin, Garrus scooped Shepard off the floor and into his arms. She smiled up at him, amusement dancing along with desire across her face.

"Feeling impatient to get your new wife into bed, huh, Garrus?" she asked.

"Very. That elevator ride was close to agonising."

She pecked him on the mandible. "Best hurry up then."

Enthusiastically, he did so, carrying her straight across the hallway and down through her quarters. When he reached her bed, however, he placed her onto it with the utmost care, since she deserved nothing less, and then stood completely still, staring at her. In his life, he'd travelled the galaxy and seen enough amazing things to make him envy of most people, but he couldn't remember ever before coming across a sight as striking as her simply lying there in front of him at that moment. Her hair was splayed out like decorative curtain around her face, accentuating the soft features he'd grown so fond of. Her dark dress, though still clinging to the upper half of her body, had slid upwards to expose a tantalising glimpse of the smooth skin belonging to her left thigh.

And she was his now.

Only his.

"Now you've finally got me right where you want me, you're not planning to just stand there staring at me all night, are you, Garrus?" she asked, a smirk forming on her face as she gazed boldly right back up at him.

No, that definitely wasn't his intention so he joined her on the bed, pulling her into a kiss of such length and intensity that his plates had parted and her cheeks were flushed a deep, vibrant pink when they wrested themselves apart from each other.

"Glad to see you take some more decisive action, Mr Vakarian," she said breathlessly.

"You should know from previous first-hand experience just how good I am at keeping things moving. I'm hardly one for slacking when action is required, Shepard."

"Mmm. That is true, but, Garrus…don't call me Shepard tonight. Call me Mrs Vakarian. Please. I want to hear you say it."

Her request came as one of those rare, entirely welcome surprises. She was the great, the powerful, the fearsome, Commander Shepard and he hadn't thought accepting the far less esteemed title of 'Mrs Vakarian' even unofficially in the bedroom would hold much, if any appeal for her.

"Whatever you want..." He paused for a moment, leaving their combined breathing as the only sound in the room, before finally adding, "Mrs Vakarian."

The words felt great on his tongue. They were overtly possessive, claiming her as his, and yet for some reason she seemed to enjoy hearing them as much as he enjoyed saying them.

Eyes jumping with heat, she ordered, "Say it again for me, Garrus."

He obliged her of course, uttering the words lower and rougher than the last time, before eschewing talking altogether in favour of placing his hands on her body and beginning to strip her. As beautiful as she looked in her dress, he was fairly certain she'd look even better out of it. She immediately joined in on the action, attacking his clothes as well. Soon his very expensive shirt remained as the final barrier between their bodies. So determined was she to remove it, that he felt on of its seam rip as she tugged it off. But she didn't notice what she'd done and he couldn't care less, letting the shirt simply fall to the floor to be forgotten along with everything else in the universe that wasn't the bed and the two of them. Husband and wife.

Naked now, and practically trembling with anticipation, he pressed his body against hers. She welcomed him readily, wrapping her arms around his torso, her legs around his hips, so they were held even more closely together. A final kiss was shared between them before he slid into her wet heat, forming one whole from their different turian and human halves and consummating their marriage.

They set a slow, sweet pace together, but the pleasure he experienced was exquisite and almost shocking in its intensity. Every single move they made set nerves firing off in sequence across his body. And the noises she gasped out beneath him, all telling him loud and clear of her own enjoyment, were just so unbelievably hot to hear.

Like the caring, thoughtful husband he always intended to be, he made sure she came first. Her ecstatic calls of "Garrus" and the way she clenched so, so tightly around him ignited the final blissful explosion in his own body. He spilled into her with a hoarse cry of her given name and then collapsed with little grace onto her equally limp, satisfied form.

Unsurprisingly, full control of his body took some time to come back to him, but when it did he pulled them both into a more comfortable position on their sides and whispered "I love you," tenderly into her ear.

"I know," she murmured in what sounded almost like a content sigh. "I love you too. More than anything else in this whole goddam galaxy."

"A lot then, huh?"

"God, yes."

The soft expression on her face as she spoke, coupled with her words, made him press his mouth to hers and run his hand down to gently tease the soft curls between her legs. She returned the kiss with a considerable amount of interest, beginning to stroke both his waist and the sensitive spot underneath his fringe. Soon they were making love again and the third time followed not long after that. Even then, he doubted that they were finished. After all, what self-respecting pair of newlyweds wouldn't spend their wedding night ravaging each other into the early hours?

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Obnoxious blaring from her alarm clock woke Shepard as it did most mornings. But this wasn't a morning just like all of its predecessors. For the first time, she was starting the day Garrus Vakarian's wife. His _wife_. She opened her eyes to find Garrus' blue ones already on her, lively with affection though, like her, he seemed to have only just come to.

"Hey there," he said, leaning over to flick off the alarm.

Her dopey facial muscles quickly pulled into a smile for him. "Hey, darling husband."

"Mmmm. Now there's a nice greeting to wake up to." He smiled lazily back at her. "I almost can't believe we're actually married. We've done plenty of crazy things together since we met on the Citadel, but getting hitched has to be the craziest. And the best."

"Well, believe it, Garrus. The proof's right here…" As visual evidence, she waved her finger at him, showcasing the newest and most precious piece of jewellery she possessed; her wedding ring. "And here…" She sought out his left hand from where it was hidden under the sheets, which, thanks to last night's activities, were a tangled mess. Upon finding it, she brought it to her face and pressed her lips firmly against his matching ring. "And I for one am very happy we're married. Ecstatic even."

"Guess I must just be a hell of a lot luckier than I thought."

"I know I am. I thought I was going to spend my life alone and I thought I was okay with it. Then you came along. I've never been less annoyed to be proven wrong."

With a chuckle, he took her hand in his, gripping it so their rings came to rest against each other. "Are we going to tell the crew exactly what we got up to last night?" he asked.

Looking at their intertwined hands, she knew she wanted to tell not only the people on board the Normandy, but every friend or even acquaintance she'd happened upon while traversing the galaxy. Sadly, she also knew to actually do so would not be sensible.

She released his hand, but only so she could caress the side of his face. "I wish I didn't have to say this, but I think we better keep the news mostly to ourselves for now. We always said we wouldn't let our relationship disrupt the crew, but it almost certainly will if they know we're married now. Plus, with the war and…everything, it's not the right time to flaunt something like this."

"Unfortunately, I think I agree with you," he said. "There's one slight hitch though; Traynor may know we're married already. And by 'may', I mean she definitely does. She figured out what we were planning to do after talking to you last night and, well, I didn't really have much choice but to confirm it. Uh…sorry. She did promise not to pass it on at least."

"You don't need to apologise, Garrus. Sounds like she knows because of me, not you. Besides, I trust her and I doubt there'll be any harm in a choice few on board finding out. We should still limit it to just that for now though. To be safe."

"So, no parading down the corridors with our wedding rings on display then?"

"I suppose that would be a rather massive giveaway."

"Damn. And calling you 'Mrs Vakarian' is probably out too."

"Well…for the most part. But when we're alone we could wear the rings and you could call me by that name as much as you like. I did very much enjoy hearing it last night."

"I remember…"

His eyes met hers and she could tell that whatever was going on behind that gaze in the back of his mind involved her getting even closer to him on the bed, though less than an inch currently separated them. After a moment of simply watching her, he said, "Do you think we have time to, ah, consummate our marriage again before our shifts are meant to start?"

In taunting orange, the display of her alarm clock informed her that they had only forty-five minutes to spare until shore leave would be officially over and he was meant to be pushing the controls in the main battery while she stood one floor up, hunched over the galaxy map.

"Well, I can't possibly say no to an enticing proposition like that from my husband," she said. "But we'll have to be fairly, um…quick if we want to make it on time."

"How romantic"

"I know." She sighed. "I wish we could just stay here together all day and then take off for a week-long honeymoon this evening."

"Make that a month-long honeymoon."

"Even better…" Her gaze flitted between his face and the irritating one belonging to the clock. "The problem is the Reapers aren't going to wait while we take an extended break. Once they're out of the way though, we can tell everyone we're married and celebrate properly with a very long, very happy and very deserved honeymoon."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I don't care much as long as your there with me. Maybe somewhere sunny. I'm getting tired of how dull the light is on this ship."

"Yeah, somewhere sunny with nice beaches and plenty of blue sea to swim in."

"I thought Turians don't swim?"

"We don't. But you've told me you like to before. You can swim and I can…watch you while I splash about in the shallows or sit on the beach. A lot of privacy would be good too. That way clothes can be optional most of the time."

"Don't forget a comfy bed to curl up in at night. And at…other times if we feel like it."

"I was just coming to that. The bed is very important."

"God, I really can't wait until we're actually there, Garrus."

Of course she knew really that they weren't assured of living out the fantasy they'd just so carefully drawn together in full colour. And he did too. But neither of them would dare say anything that might damage their delicate hopes. They reached for each other and for the next half hour concentrated solely on the feel of hard turian plates moving rhythmically against soft human skin.

To both their credit, they were only slightly late for their shifts, with Shepard arriving on the bridge in a hurry to a knowing look from Sam and a whispered, "Congratulations."

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**There's only one chapter to go now, which I shall post later this week.**

**Thanks so much for sticking with the story so far :)**


	5. The future

**Last chapter inbound… **

**I have to admit a part of me is a little sad to finish the story already as I've really enjoyed posting here after taking such a long break from the site. Thanks to everyone who has placed this story on alert, favourited it or reviewed it. I really appreciate it :)**

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Two hundred and thirteen days later, Shepard and Garrus sat enjoying cool drinks with miles of white sand and blue sea stretched out in front of them. Most people would have declared the view to be beautiful, but what really made it so for Garrus were the two destroyed Reapers lying to the East in the depths of the water. They were just ugly, broken ornaments, waiting for someone to come along and sweep them up. He, on the other hand, remained mostly intact. As did Shepard, thank God, the Spirits or whatever could claim the credit for saving her. She'd been in a bad way directly after the final battle on Earth, but her condition had drastically improved since then.

"It doesn't get much better than this, does it?" he murmured as his gaze went on a leisurely wander over her bandage free, bikini clad form.

"I'd wager not, Garrus. Beautiful surroundings and you right beside me in a pair of speedos. How could you improve on that?"

"You do know I'm only wearing these because you made me."

They were bright blue, overly tight and ridiculous looking, to the extent that he felt glad that the only other people he could see apart from him and Shepard were just tiny specks off in the distance, almost indistinguishable from the rocks, palm trees and sand.

"But you look so good in them!" she exclaimed. "They show off your wonderful legs and that tight little ass of yours."

She smirked at him, eyes sparkling with mischief, but he saw the amusement disappear from her face a moment later when she took a sip of her drink.

"You okay, Shepard?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah…" she replied, though there was a hint of pain in her voice nonetheless. "I just…pulled some of the scar tissue, I think. It's settling down already. Don't worry."

But he did. Just a little anyway. His memories of sitting by her hospital bedside were still too fresh for him to stay entirely rational about her safety and well-being. He could still perfectly hear the beeping of the machines she'd been tethered to and picture the terrible white dullness of the small room that had once confined her.

"Are you absolutely sure you're okay?" he said. "You went pretty pale for a second there. Do you need my help?"

"What, with drinking?" She laughed then placed her drink down on the ground so she could take his hand instead. To his relief, none of those movements seem to cause her any more pain. "Stand down and relax, Garrus," she said in a tone enriched strongly with affection, but also a certain measure of firmness. "No need to worry and start fussing and fretting over me all because of one little twinge."

"I know that, but…" He paused. "Just…just remember I'm always here if you do need help."

"Well," she said. "If you honestly don't mind, you could fetch my omni-tool for me and save me from the terrible hassle of getting up off my ass and looking for it. I left it somewhere inside, but I think I heard it go off a few minutes ago."

Immediately, he swung into action, dropping a tender kiss on her forehead and saying, "Anything for you," before walking the scant few metres to their rented beach hut. Made of leaves and wood, the hut was rather dwarfed by the palm trees standing tall around it. However, its small size suited the two of them just fine right now as a place to stay. They didn't want anything grand. They didn't want space. What they wanted was to be as close to each other as possible and have all the chaos of late replaced by a new simplicity.

"Thank you,'" she called out after him as he headed up the stairs and through the wide open door. "I'm not sure where exactly I left it. Maybe try the dresser?"

In actual fact, he found it dumped under some of her clothes beside the large, inviting bed that dominated the hut's central room. Neither of them had exactly taken the time to properly unpack since their arrival the previous night. They'd both been far too distracted by other more enjoyable matters like admiring the view and trying out said bed extensively and repeatedly.

To reward his triumphant return with the omni-tool in hand, she repaid his kiss from before then gave him a couple of extra pecks on both his cheeks as well as a final one on his nose.

"Anything important on there?" he asked, watching as her fingers danced over the device.

"Hmm…nothing galaxy shattering. No one's desperately calling for our help – thank God. Tali sent me a link to an extranet article about our marriage and what it might mean for interspecies relationships in this post-conflict era."

"Sounds enthralling."

"Oh yeah."

With alarming frequency, articles had been written about their relationship since they'd allowed the news of their marriage to be capitulated out from the shadows into the public arena. The worst rather predictably being a Fornax piece, which featured graphic shots of a couple of lookalikes demonstrating the best positions for turian-human couples.

"There are a few more messages from people wishing us a happy honeymoon as well," she continued. "A fairly perfunctory one from Hackett and a longer one from Samantha."

"What does Sam's say?"

"Let's see…she hopes we allow ourselves a proper chance to relax because we've more than earned it. She's sure the galaxy can cope for a little while without us now the war's over and even if it struggles a bit, we still better not hurry back or we'll have her to answer to. Instead, she wants our only mission over the next few weeks to be enjoying the sun, sea and sand."

"I think those are orders I can definitely follow. Even if they were issued by a subordinate officer."

She laughed so heartily that it made her eyes crinkle up. "Likewise. To the letter," she said. "You know, we haven't actually tried out the sea yet since we've been so…busy with other things and it looks very blue right now. Are you up for a bit of a dip? I'll keep a close eye on you to make sure you don't get in too deep."

"You promise?

"Cross my heart, in fact. You mean far, far much to me for me to ever let anything bad happen to you, Mr Vakarian."

"I'm deeply touched, Mrs Vakarian." Carefully, he got to his feet, bringing her up with him so she was left standing in his arms at the end of the manoeuvre. "You're such a wonderful wife to me."

"And you're as good a husband as you are a sniper and calibrator. Which is really saying something." She kissed him. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Both with one arm looped around the other, they made their way down the sand towards the sea. At the edge of water, she kept right on going, pulling him along with her and not stopping until the water lapped gently at their knees in greeting. She lay her head on his shoulder and they simply remained set in that position, unspeaking while their eyes searched the horizon.

Garrus' mind slowly drifted away to the life they would share together. To the first house they would buy as a couple, furnish and transform into a home. To the orphaned human and turian children they would love and raise together. And far, far beyond even that.

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**And that's the end! Thanks to everyone who read the whole thing. I hope you enjoyed it. If anyone has any comments on the story, then I'd love to hear them.**

**Best wishes to all of you :)**


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